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| Radiant Spring Festival in the Highlands of A Luoi. Photo by: Visit Hue |
Recently, I had the chance to return to A Luoi. I couldn’t believe my first trip there took place nearly half a century ago! That was a trip organized by the postal service in August 1977, together with a group of journalists from the provincial press and radio-television of Binh Tri Thien.
I had the good fortune to know Ms. Dam Thu - a Hanoi-born lady, now 90 years old, who once worked for Vietnam Women’s Newspaper and later collaborated with an international organization to help A Luoi. By last year, she had been to A Luoi eight times and often shared information about life in the highlands with me.
Thanks to her, over the past two years, I have written more than once about the people and transformations of A Luoi for Thua Thien Hue Newspaper (now Hue Today). One such piece is about the life of Mr. Ho Ngoc My (1924–2016), a veteran revolutionary who took part in the August Revolution, served as Deputy Head of Viet Minh in Quang Dien, and in 1947 carried “President Ho’s voice” to the highlands of A Luoi, building the Party there during extremely difficult times over sixty years ago.
Still, one must go there in person to truly feel the miraculous changes A Luoi has undergone in recent decades. How could I forget the unimaginable hardships of those early years after the district was established? Back in August 1977, A Luoi had been a district for just over a year, and Binh Tri Thien Province had only recently merged, causing difficulties to pile up. The top priority was communications. The road from Hue to A Luoi (now Route 49) was not yet open, so our group of journalists had to travel in two postal service cars, heading first to Dong Ha, after that along Route 9 to the Da Krong suspension bridge, and then turning onto Route 14 (now Ho Chi Minh Road) for another 100 km to reach A Luoi. Though departing at 8 a.m., we didn’t arrive until 4 p.m.
At that time, A Luoi had almost nothing. Postal workers even gave up their makeshift huts for us journalists to stay in. In the middle of the night, rain blew in and soaked everything. The next day, we followed a “Zin three-axle” truck – the strongest vehicle for mountain slopes – carrying concrete blocks for telephone poles and white porcelain insulators. From the A Luoi valley, it climbed toward Bot Do slope to set up the line connecting back to Hue. However, the slope was too steep and the road was too rough, so the truck couldn’t make it. Postal workers had to haul the concrete blocks by hand.
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| The author at the Vietnam–Laos border marker. Photo courtesy of the author |
Recalling those hardships only makes me value today’s progress even more. Now, a trip from central Hue to A Luoi’s communes (A Luoi 1–5) along Route 49 covers just over 60 km. Although the road still winds over passes like Kim Quy, Ta Luong, and Mo Qua, the trip takes less than two hours. The paved two-lane road is smooth, with clear signs. There are still some sharp curves, yet skilled drivers would even find the challenge enjoyable.
My driver, a former soldier, stopped first at a memorial stele honoring 17 heroic martyrs of Battalion 24 who died in 1972 a hill near Binh Dien. Beside the fresh wreaths for War Invalids and Martyrs’ Day (July 27th), I read the names of the 17 martyrs, most of whom were from the North.
In A Lưới itself, the place once familiarly called ‘A Sau’ is now known as A So, where a dioxin cleanup project led by the Army’s Chemical Command was carried out and completed between 2020 and 2022. Today, A So airfield has become a tourist stop, with lush rice fields stretching to the foot of the mountains. When I visited, I happened to see a Pa Co woman passing by, with a basket on her back filled with fresh vegetables just harvested from her relatives’ garden.
The Bot Do slope, once too steep even for the sturdy Zin three-axle truck, is now a developed township. The central urban area of A Luoi lay just ahead, but having come to the highlands, a visit to the border marker was a ‘must.’ Our car turned left onto Route 14 along the Eastern Truong Son, and after about 30 kilometers of smooth asphalt, we reached the A Dot border gate. This crossing, which connects trade with Sekong Province in Laos, was officially opened on a day in late July, twenty-one years ago.
I first came to know a border gate to Laos on Route 7 in Nghe An back in 1962, just after a devastating flash flood had struck there. Later, I passed through the Lang Sơn gate, Cau Treo on National Highway 8, Cha Lo on Route 12A, and then Lao Bao on Route 9. And yet, only now have I reached A Dot. Having witnessed the bustling scenes of import and export at Lao Bao, Cha Lo, and other gates, with trucks piled high with goods, I was at first surprised - and to be honest, a little saddened - by the quietness at A Dot. But then I understood: whether a border gate is lively or not still depends on the conditions and economic development of the border regions on both sides.
Returning to the formerly central urban area of A Luoi District – A Luoi 2 Commune since July 1st, 2025 (including the former A Luoi township and the communes of A Ngo, Quang Nham, Hong Bac) - I was as astonished as when I stood before the quiet A Dot border gate, but this time for the opposite reason. I could hardly believe that such a newly established township could be so grand. The main street, named Ho Chi Minh Road, is broad and spacious, with two clear lanes in each direction and a central divider like an endless garden of ornamental trees - more beautiful than in many larger cities.
A Luoi today has transformed dramatically since my first visit in 1977. Looking back to 1947 when Mr. Ho Ngoc My left Quang Dien to establish the first revolutionary base here (formerly Western Thua Thien) - at a time when many ethnic people still wore loincloths - the contrast is astounding. Today, after 80 years of answering President Ho’s call and enduring countless sacrifices and hardships, A Luoi has become a true ‘paradise’ in the highlands of Hue.
The recent administrative merger and streamlining of government machinery in an effort to enter “a new era” may bring new challenges, but they pale in comparison with the dangers and trials faced in earlier times.
I left A Luoi, feeling confident that the local officials and people will continue to overcome obstacles on this new path, turning these highland communes of the Perfume River region into tourist destinations. They will show visitors that Hue is not only about royal tombs and palaces, but also about zèng brocade, fresh mountain streams, and the lush produce of the peaceful Truong Son.